Anyone who has read my posts knows I'm a dog lover and prefer knowledge of dog behavior and the most humane ways possible to deal with canine/cyclist conflicts (though I've never held it against anyone to protect him/herself when genuinely in danger of being bitten). I deal with dogs to some degree or another almost every time I ride and usually don't have any problem (with the exception of a big dopey lab that once collided with me).

Well, today was the first time in a very long time I had a serious case of sphincter pucker involving canines. I was on a rural road when I saw a dog coming out of a yard onto the road 100 yards or so in front of me. It was some kind of bull terrier or maybe a rottweiler cross. He was barking and growling but more standing his ground than attacking. I slowed way down thinking no big deal, I've dealt with this before. Then I spotted big dog #2, which looked like a clone of big dog #1, in the ditch almost directly across from me ears down and laying low. Crap, there went the option to make a fast U-turn and take off in the other direction. I stopped and dismounted on the side opposite the dog in the ditch which brought him up on the road. Both were making tentative advances but backed off when I would speak loudly to them and use the bike to ward them off. Well this sucked but still seemed manageable when big dog #3 came up on the road about 50 feet behind me.

To those who know dogs, this is pack hunting behavior and they were flanking me. For the first time in my life I was wishing I had a can of Bear Spray. I had my triangle bag on the bike in which I carry a fairly heavy padlock on a three-foot cable so I pulled that out, it was better than nothing. To my advantage all appeared to be young adult or near full grown juveniles, so they weren't as bold as older dogs might have been.

I was able to walk my way out of the dogs' territory after a few shots from the water bottle and several short standoffs. Won't be using that stretch of road again any time soon. Too bad, it's a nice road through scenic fields and I've ridden it in the past with no problems.

Whoa! Very scary and dangerous. Glad you were able to sort it out.

Time for a call to Animal Control. I can't think of what would happen to a child who was riding on the same path.

Getting surrounded is no fun. My scariest dog encounter was with 4 dogs when I was riding at night. I could hear them closing in on me on both sides, but I couldn't even see them. Fortunately, they let me walk out of their territory. I did call them in. Don't know if it helped, but I didn't see them on that stretch again.

Canine ******* are a part of cycling. The last time I rode, this guy trotted alongside me as I passed his field...

Four dogs at night would be very scary and much more difficult to manage. I was puckered enough with three in broad daylight. I like the picture BTW. The animals are one of the reasons I like riding in rural areas. We have lots of horses and cattle in the area as well as occassional goats, sheep, and one place has a pair of donkeys. No llamas (or is it an alpaca?) though

Luckily, my recent canine encounter was on a very rural road so there isn't a lot of cycle and pedestrian traffic and not many kids, but there is always the possibility. The property is one that I thought was an unoccupied farmstead, but my guess is that someone either bought or rented it and moved in with the dogs. The only animal control we have is the Sheriff's department and they have been made aware of the situation.

I like big dogs, including properly raised and socialized rotts and bulls, had a shar paei once myself (great dog but not too smart) and currently have a German shepard (great dog and a whole lot smarter) as well as a lab and a retriever. There are lots of responsible dog owners who love these breeds and keep them properly trained and restrained. Even though my dogs are good tempered and socialized to other people, their portion of the yard has a six-foot fence and they are never off-leash or at least a long cable lead when out in public. When they are in close proximity to other people, kids, and other dogs, the shepard wears a Halti head harness (those who have seen them know what I'm talking about) and all three dogs stay on 18-inch leads.

Unfortunately for these breeds, they are also popular with the . . . well . . . lets just say "less responsible owners" who think its some kind of status symbol to have big, powerful, aggressive dogs. They are also popular with people who have reason to not want people snooping around their property. Too bad as it gives a bad reputation to breeds that, as a whole, don't deserve it.

I had an encounter with a dog where I had to dismount also. He would retreat then when I tried to get on my bike and take off he would come charging. I eventually got out of his range apparently. I didn't have cell service there so the first thing I did when I got home was report to the Co. Sheriff. Pisses me off that people dont' control their pets.

With 100 yards to ramp up, I'd be going by the dog at about 35mph. Start all the way on one side of the road, then take dead aim for the dog, and then move back across the road as you get just short of him.

my worst dog encounter so far:

a few years ago, i was riding up a several thousand foot mountain in tennessee or north carolina and struggling with a bonk. damn dog runs up beside me, gives me the look, and takes off up the road ahead of me. continues on for 300m or so and then stops in the road looking back at me. waits. when i get to him, he takes off again. after 4 or 5 of these rounds, he turns around and heads home. f that dude.

Not advisable if you are dealing with either a pack of feral/semi-feral dogs or a group of trained cattle dogs. Feral packs have been known to run full grown whitetail bucks into the ground and a group of Catahoulas (one of the larger cattle dog breeds) can bring a charging bull to a standstill and never back down. At 35 mph, if that lead dog has the drop on you and hits you broadside or gets in front of you, you are going down and the fact that you ran is going to have the whole pack on top of you in seconds.

In my case, I'm a 230 pound rider who was in mile 30+ of a ride on a lightly loaded steel touring bike. I was facing into a 10 mph or so headwind. My chances of outrunning these dogs was next to nil as, even if I got past the lead dog, once the chase is on, it could last for miles.

Damn...

Here come the dog whisperers!

I'll take my chances. Only time I've ever not been able to out run dogs was up a steep grade.

I do understand the risk of the dog getting in front of your wheel. That's why I first go toward the dog, both to throw the dog off it's line, and to give me room to move across the road as I get up to the dog.

I'd rather take my chances with a bunch of big ass dogs moving than standing still.

There was already a recent 100-page thread with every theory and counter theory of canine behavior known to man!


I was on a greenway trail last year when 2 dogs bolted out of the blue and started barking and snapping at me. At the same time a truck was driving down the trail, where no vehicles are allowed. I stopped the truck and asked the couple in it if they were their dogs. They said no, and then apologized to me for driving on "my driveway!" So I'm both flummoxed by these idiots driving their truck down a greenway trail and two snapping, barking dogs chasing me! And BTW, that day I had decided that I should tighten up the spokes on my bike, so I randomly tightened certain spokes before setting out. So I'm not sure if I bent my rim on a stone trying to escape the dogs, or the stupidity of randomly tightening spokes put it out of whack, although it was most likely the two combined.

Glad that the sheriff has been notified. Additionally, I see no purpose in having unsupervised dogs roam around in rural areas because all they do is get into trouble.

I see irresponsible dog owners all the time as some towns locally have no leash law. There are always news reports of dogs threatening pedestrians, kids, the elderly etc. Additionally, as a child of 8 I was bitten by a German Shepherd without a leash at a shopping mall. My dog has been attacked multiple times by dogs without leashes in stores (Petco) and @ public areas. Just great. Of course, all these dog owners try to slink away as quickly as possible.

I was also surrounded years ago by a trio of dogs on a uphill climb in Marin County. I also had to dismount, use the bike as a shield. I also had a long Zefal hand pump which the dogs did not appreciate. I think having something that resembled a club set off a primordial fear reaction in the dogs which kept them away??? I just love it when you can see their gnashing teeth.

This guy is a llama though I often see alpacas as well. We also have emus out here.

People who own aggressive breeds are a lot like the people who drive big trucks (often the individuals are one and the same). Most are very responsible and cause no problems whatsoever. However, there is a small minority of idiots who can't deal with their inadequacies who are a menace to all.


Not really true -- there are lots of highly trained working and hunting dogs in rural areas. They are not a threat even if they check you out. It's not really reasonable to expect working dogs to be leashed.

Scary. Seemingly handled very well. Your tips were very informative, at least to me.

Thanks for sharing your story.

PS - I haven't had any crises with dogs while riding, but I once did see a very sobering attack. A German Shepard charged my Vizsla (60# dog) from 90 degrees at full speed. BAM! He hit broadside. Knocked my dog over and several feet sideways. The owner came over and said "sorry."

Feel free to leave the discussion if you don't like the topic. There are lots of other threads and I'm sure you can find one to your liking.

It isn't the dogs I hate. It is their owners. Fenced yard or on a leash please!

I agree that there is no one right way that works for everyone, ever time. Each person has to assess the situation and his/her abilities and decide on a course of action. If you have the speed and handling skills, by all means go with your strengths. I have chosen the outrun the dog option a number of times, but in this situation I felt I was better off to make a stand than to risk being taken down. Once a pack of dogs has you on the ground, you're screwed. I'm not a fast rider, even on my road bike, and on my touring, I'm even slower. Into the wind and my legs not fresh I could have been in real trouble if they decided to chase me down. We've both made it out of the situations unscathed and that's what counts. I just hope that neither of us ever has to find out we made the wrong choice.

Don't be mad bro! First of all, I was going "damn" about your experience, scary stuff and glad you came out unscathed. The Dog whisperer comment would be for the ensuing tips from dog experts on how you should be handling dog attacks while cycling.

Sorry man. That's one of the hazards of electronic media, no facial expressions, body language or tone of voice to judge intent by. I read it as; Damn, you hated dog behavior discussions. My bad.

That's the way it is around here. Farm dogs are part of the way of life and as long as they aren't vicious, they are accepted. I work on an ambulance and I estimate that on 75% or more of our rural calls we are met in the driveway or yard by one or more dogs. Almost never is it a problem except when they want to jump in the front seat for a ride (grain truck, pickup, ambulance, dogs don't care, just roll down the window). On my bike I've had lots of dogs bark at me from the driveway or the edge of the yard, run along side me in the ditch for a bit, or sometimes even get to be a PITA, but they aren't a big problem, some I greet regularly as I pass by.

Doing winter base miles with three other guys way out in unfamiliar Indiana boonies. Up the road a few hundred yards I see a group of houses, probably a cross roads. As we approach I see a couple of dogs walk into the road, still 200 hundred yards away. Then I see another dozen dogs walk into the road. This was a serious OH SH** moment. One of the guys I was with launched up the road yelling and flailing his arms. All the dogs cleared out. As we got close enough to see, there were probably 20 dogs of all variety hiding in ditches, under cars and on porches. Not a one came after us as we passed. Funniest thing I've ever seen.

Hope that works out for you.
I've been bitten several times, but by far my worst 2 encounters were both when I hit the dog.
Three weeks in the hospital the last time.

Did you go after the owner? Or were they strays?

That's a big problem with some of the semi-feral dogs around here, no way to prove who owns them. They are bought with cash from puppy mills or private seller, never licensed or registered, never taken to a vet, and there are several dogs on the property. If anything ever happens the property owner just says "That's not my dog. He's just a stray that hangs around here." and there's no way to prove otherwise.